Kitsap Sun girls basketball player of the year: North Kitsap's Olivia Selembo

North Kitsap senior Olivia Selembo overcame a broken ankle to help lead the Vikings to the Class 2A state tournament. Selembo is the Kitsap Sun girls basketball player of the year for 2018.(Photo: Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun)Buy Photo

Olivia Selembo helped North Kitsap's girls basketball team reach the state tournament for the first time in 30 years this winter.

The senior's performance during three games in Yakima might have helped Selembo earn a shot to play four more years of basketball at the college level.

Selembo totaled 42 points on 16 of 25 shooting from the field over three games at the 2A tourney, including an 18-point effort in the Vikings' first-round upset of 2017 state runner-up Burlington-Edison.

North Kitsap lost its next two games -- to eventual state runner-up Archbishop Murphy and 2017 state champ Lynden -- but Selembo's solid play stood out to Vikings coach Penny Gienger.

"If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have been there," Gienger said.

As the best player on the West Sound basketball team that made it the furthest in the playoffs, Selembo is the choice for the Kitsap Sun's girls basketball player of the year.

North Kitsap (21-8) finished the season strong after placing second in the Olympic League 2A. Selembo, a starter since her freshman year, averaged 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals per game.

"This was just so much fun," Selembo said. "It's been our lives for the past four years."

In Yakima, Selembo found a fan in Pacific Lutheran women's basketball coach Jennifer Childress, who spoke to the Vikings point guard about possibly playing for the Lutes next season.

Playing basketball collegiately is something Selembo is still considering. She plans to be a pre-med major in college with the hope of one day becoming a labor and delivery nurse, so sports may take a back seat to academics.

"It's to be determined," Selembo said.

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North Kitsap's Olivia Selembo averaged 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Vikings.(Photo: Larry Steagall / Kitsap Sun)

Selembo's final high school basketball season was actually in doubt after she broke her ankle in the fall playing volleyball for the Vikings. The break occurred at the state tournament and forced Selembo to miss North Kitsap's first eight basketball games.

Selembo said sitting out the first month of the season proved to be a challenge mentally.

"I was so sick of it," Selembo said about having a cast on her right leg. "I just wanted to do something besides sit there."

Selembo returned to action in the middle of December and spent the rest of the season trying to get back up to speed.

"I was so out of shape," Selembo said. "It was pretty hard."

By the end of the season, Selembo said her ankle felt 80-85 percent healthy. She wasn't able to play as fast as she would have liked, as cutting and changing direction quickly sometimes proved challenging.

Gienger said Selembo remained North Kitsap's go-to-player in crunch time. In the district tournament against Renton, Gienger called for the ball to go to Selembo in the closing seconds of a tie game . Selembo delivered with a game-winning 3-pointer.

"She came through for us," Gienger said. "I wish we would have had her the whole year."

Joining Selembo on the Kitsap Sun's Super Six girls basketball team are North Kitsap's Raelee Moore, Bainbridge's Olivia Wikstrom, Central Kitsap's Olivia Krog, Olympic's Kiki Mitchell and Kingston's Karleigh Gomez. Selembo made the Super Six team in 2017.

Gienger earned the nod as coach of the year.

Girls Super Six

Karleigh Gomez

Year: Senior

School: Kingston

Height: 5-8

Position: Guard

Stats: 12.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.4 spg

Honors: Olympic League 2A first team

Olivia Krog

Year: Senior

School: Central Kitsap

Height: 5-8

Position: G/F

Stats: 13.1 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 2.8 apg

Honors: South Sound Conference 3A honorable mention

Kiki Mitchell

Year: Senior

School: Olympic

Height: 5-5

Position: G/F

Stats: 10.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.1 apg, 4.5 spg

Honors: Olympic League 2A first team

Raelee Moore

Year: Junior

School: North Kitsap

Height: 5-8

Position: G

Stats: 11 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 spg

Honors: Olympic League 2A first team

Olivia Selembo

Year: Senior

School: North Kitsap

Height: 5-7

Position: G

Stats: 11 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 spg

Honors: Olympic League 2A first team

Olivia Wikstrom

Year: Sophomore

School: Bainbridge

Height: 5-11

Position: Guard

Stats: 16.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.0 spg

Honors: Metro League 3A honorable mention

Coach Penny Gienger

School: North Kitsap

Record: 21-8

Honors: In her fourth season coaching North Kitsap, Gienger led the Vikings to a second-place finish in the Olympic League 2A, a third-place finish at the West Central District tournament and a 1-2 record at the state tournament.